A new flag now hangs above City Hall — one that reminds residents about the impacts of the ongoing toxic drug crisis in our communities.
Positive Living North, Broken Hearts of Fentanyl and Moms Stop the Harm, alongside community partners, local MLAs and members of mayor and council, gathered outside City Hall to raise a purple flag in memory of the lives lost to this crisis and to show empathy for those currently suffering with substance use challenges.
Mayor Yu, before raising the flag, proclaimed that August will now be International Overdose/Poisoning Awareness Month.
Moms Stop the Harm and Broken Hearts of Fentanyl stated that August will be a month to educate, stop stigma and raise awareness about the toxic drug crisis both in BC and Canada as a whole.
Mary McDonald, who lost a son to this crisis, shared her story with The Citizen and explained why this movement means so much to her.
“My son, his name was Luke Landry,” said McDonald. “He was 35 years old. He died in Moncton, New Brunswick. His death was very publicized because I was very upset about what took place. He had gotten out of jail that morning — just on a misdemeanor — and he hadn't had any drug use for over eight months. Somebody gave him a drug. What he was given was three times stronger than any fentanyl. I was told by the coroner that there was no medical purpose for this drug. This drug was used to kill people. He died on the streets of Moncton.
“He went and asked for help. He was at a Connection, where they could take drugs safely. This drug he took from somebody else, and they kept him there until seven o'clock that evening after giving him two treatments of naloxone. They didn't have a place to put him … They put him on the street when he couldn't walk or talk right, and he walked all around Moncton trying to get some help and ended up dying in a public washroom in front of the city hall.”
McDonald has been a strong advocate since that day and has found community in Broken Hearts of Fentanyl and Moms Stop the Harm.
“It’s my safe place,” said McDonald. “We are so criticized in public. Everybody blames everybody for these crises. They blame everybody — that if you were a better mother, if you had done any of these things … You can’t talk to everybody about this. You can’t even talk necessarily to your own family about how you feel, because they don’t understand. And you can’t understand unless you’ve heard of it. And these wonderful people that I joined — we love one another, and we try to hold one another up. That’s why this group is very important to me.”
Michelle Miller, a member of Moms Stop the Harm and Broken Hearts of Fentanyl, who lost her son Tanner to the toxic drug crisis, spoke to the media following the flag raising and raised concerns about the rise in stigma against those with substance use challenges.
“I think language matters, and we’ve worked really hard on that. It’s really important that we don’t label people by calling them addicts. That’s old language,” said Miller. “We don’t label and demean people. It’s people with substance challenges, mental health challenges. They’re all individual people, and the 12-step programs — they tend to label still with their old language.
“It’s really hard on somebody. They’re already down and out, and the families are trying really hard to work with their kids. I’ve been through that journey with my son, and I made mistakes as a mom. But I have learned over the years that you don’t let go of your kids. You stick it out with them, and hopefully one day, there might be a treatment centre here that will be able to help people.”
With recent stats released from the BC Coroners Service showing that 23 people have died in Prince George this year from the toxic drug supply, Miller said that although the numbers are down from last year, this crisis is still far from over.
“Unfortunately, we still don’t have the support for treatments for people who are in full addiction,” said Miller. “That’s one piece of the puzzle that needs to be fixed. The numbers — they’re 23 — you know, those numbers aren’t accurate because there are a number of people who have passed away. I know of three in the past month, and it’s just because we’re out there every day trying our hardest to make people aware. People at home need to be aware too — like, their kids are at risk. Their young teenage kids in high school, even elementary school, are at risk of overdose and poisoning. You know, there’s fake Molly out there, there’s fake Xanax bars out there.”
Local MLA Kiel Giddens joined those in attendance at the flag raising. Giddens expressed concern about the over-representation of drug deaths in the trades, transport and heavy machinery sectors — an issue also highlighted in the recent data from the BC Coroners Service.
“For the first time ever, the coroner has actually included the occupations of those who have lost their lives,” said Giddens. “Twenty-two per cent over the last two months have been workers in trades, in transport, and in heavy equipment operation. This is something that we’ve known for quite some time, but now we’re seeing real evidence from the coroner. We need to support all families — including working people — to make sure that they’re not falling victim to this toxic crisis. So supporting those in the trades and our working people in this province is something that we’re calling out — to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure working people are safe, that they’re working safely, that they’re being safe, and that they know that there’s help when they need it.”
He also stated that more effective and targeted treatment programs and outreach are needed to ensure workers receive the critical support they require.
“I worked in industry before being elected,” said Giddens. “We worked very hard to make sure that there was access to help, support. Not all trades and technology and transport companies have that capacity. We need to make sure that we have things in place — that they can access that help when they need it.”
Giddens told The Citizen that he has seen this issue hit the trades industry in Prince George directly, and that he wants to ensure workers receive the protections they need.
“Prince George is an industry town,” said Giddens. “We have people who power our mills. We have people who are delivering logs to our sawmills. We have construction workers working across the region. Absolutely, this is a huge issue for Prince George, and that’s why we want to make sure workers are safe, protected, and that they have the help they need here in Prince George — let alone the rest of the province.”
Prince George MLA Rosalyn Bird also joined attendees and passionately spoke about an upcoming first-of-its-kind event that she hopes will help slow the drug crisis in the city.
“Prince George is going to be the first city in BC — possibly Canada — to have a prescription drug take-back day,” said Bird. “That is going to be recognized along with International Overdose Awareness Day. The event is intended to help people understand that although there may be drugs available on the street — that’s criminal diversion — there’s also something that I call soft diversion, where people are using unused medications or extra medications. They’re removing them from medicine cabinets — whether it is seniors filling prescriptions through pharmacare and selling them to buy groceries, or adults using parents’ medications to self-medicate and possibly self-harm through suicide. Those drugs need to come out of our medicine cabinets every year.”
This event will take place on Aug. 28 on-site at City Hall to collect prescription medications, vaping devices (with batteries removed) and other drug-related supplies — anonymously and without judgment.
Bird told the media there are other ways people can help manage the toxic drug crisis in Prince George.
“They should talk about it,” said Bird. “If they have somebody who is engaged in addiction challenges, or they have mental health challenges, or they are not residing in a home and they need help — they need to be talking about that. They need to talk to council, they need to talk to their MLAs, they need to reach out to resources in town, so that we can all work together as a community to try and help these individuals.”
